Next Cafe: What can science tell us about the future?

Mean surface temperature change for 1999–2008 relative to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Human-caused climate change has now been openly linked to recent flooding events in Wales and Southern England. Last year’s report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reaffirmed that climate science is increasingly clear on the influence of humans on global climate. But there remain many uncertainties and complexities to consider. What exactly can science tell us about the future, and are there limits? If there are limits on what it can tell us, what does this mean for evidence based policy, especially when it comes to mitigating or adapting to climate change? When we argue about phenomena like climate change and what to do about them, are we really arguing about scientific evidence, or about something else?

In this month’s Cafe on 18 February 2014, Dr Chris Groves (Social Sciences, Cardiff University) examines these and other issues. As usual, we’re in the Cafe Bar at The Gate, from 8.00pm.